Bistrita Nasaud wants to break world records with its traditional folk dance and clothing

Bistrita-Nasaud plans to break two world records on May 14, on the National Day of the Folk Costume, with the largest number of people wearing traditional folk costumes and with the highest number of participants in a traditional dance.

The Romanian dancers will dance the Runc Wheel, a traditional dance in Runcu Slavei commune in Bistrita county.

The two world records have not been registered so far, with the Guinness Book asking the organizers to have at least 4,500 participants in order for the dance to be registered as world record.

So, 8,000 to 10,000 participants are expected to the event due in Nasaud on May 14.

According to the event organizer, Virginia Linul, 5,000 people wearing folk costumes attended the event last year. She says that the Guinness Book suggested them two world records that they can break: Largest traditional Romanian folk dance and Largest gathering of people in a traditional Romanian clothing. “We estimate that 8,000 to 10,000 people will attend the second edition of the event,” she said.

The Culture Ministry has allotted RON 75,000 for this festival.

The peacock-feathered hat-the region’s icon

The peasant women from Bistrita wear two aprons, black or red and black, with horizontal stripes. The peasant man’s blouses are loose, with floral ornamentation across the neckline, chest and cuffs. A man’s hat embellished with peacock feathers is a sign that the man is not married.

The disc-shaped peacock plume is actually the traditional icon of the men’s traditional costume in Nasaud Land.

Only few craftsmen know how to make the peacock plume hat. Such peacock feather manufacturers can be found in the localities of Salva and Runcu Salvei, and work to complete such a hat can take even one full day because it is particularly painstaking. The feathers are stuck twith wax and arranged in multiple layers.

There can be three, five or even seven layers of feathers, their number showing the welfare of the young man’s family. To produce a hat with a five-layer plume, for instance, some 400 peacock feathers are needed, so it is no cheap hat, with prices starting from RON 600 for one with three layers to RON 2,000 for a hat with seven-layer plume.